This proposal requests five years of funding to present an annual Conference on Innovations in Trauma Research Methods (CITRM) in response to the 10/30/98 "Guidelines For Support Of Scientific Meetings by NIH." Other conferences in the field of psychological trauma focus on research content, but this conference will focus on research methods. The purpose of CITRM is to: strengthen the methodological rigor of trauma research; develop creative solutions to design and analysis issues unique to trauma research; enhance the training of novice researchers; enhance diffusion of innovative methods from other fields; explore ethical dilemmas and possible solutions in trauma research. The two-day conference will be held annually at the same site and immediately prior to the annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the largest research and clinical organization in the field. CITRM is expected to draw 50 persons in the first year, and 100 persons by the third year, split equally between novice, intermediate, and advanced researchers. The conference will include an Advanced Design and Methods Workshop; a Statistics Workshop; an Ethics Workshop; and submitted paper and poster presentations on research methods. In addition, each conference will feature a Methodological Think Tank, in which experts in research methods will attempt to develop a methodological solution to a thorny dilemma in trauma research, and a Dissection of Innovative Studies, in which the author(s) of a paper that used a novel research technique will explain how and why the technique was used. The Plenary and the content of some of the workshops will be tied to the yearly theme (e.g., Year 1: Methodological issues in addressing mass disaster and terrorism). There will be formal and informal networking opportunities, and a yearly Career Panel for novice researchers. Funding will be used for travel and honoraria for invited speakers, travel fellowships for minority novice researchers (9) and minority scientists (5), and infrastructure to support a conference. CITRM has received the endorsement of the Executive Committee of the Board of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, a pledge of financial support from the National Center for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and agreements to be on the Advisory Board from a distinguished group of scholars, from diverse disciplines, with expertise in research methods.